Of Explanations
by ApparentlyFood
Summary: Prior to throwing her over his shoulder, he had said he was going to explain everything as soon as she woke up. What a liar. A big fat liar. SasuIno AU
1. Prologue

Ino had absolutely no idea how she ended up like _this, _locked up in a bland, windowless room by a – she was not going to lie – breathtakingly gorgeous man that possessed the personality of a beast. After all, he did throw her over his shoulder, knocked her out, and from what the disarray on her bed says, threw her onto the bed before locking her in. It was Beauty and the Beast, but in reality where she was the beauty – well, she is a beauty – and a beast who might as well have been the beauty because _damn_, he was so gosh darn gorgeous from the few seconds she could remember before being knocked out.

Wait, why was he even keeping her because she was pretty sure he knew that she was a thief. What if he intended on keeping her locked up in the dreadfully boring room? She couldn't be isolated forever! She was a social butterfly! Oh wait, what if he was going to make her his sex slave? Her hands were chained. Goodness, maybe the next time he walked in he would be half naked, that monster in his pants just bulging for – hold up, wasn't she getting too excited?

Frowning at her thoughts, Ino moved in her spot on the bed, frustrated that the hand cuffs were restricting so much. Having given up, she just decided to lie on her side, huffing out a sigh at her blonde bangs like a bored child, which she technically was mentally. She felt like tearing out her hair; she was just so _bored_.

Prior to throwing her over his shoulder, he had said he was going to explain everything as soon as she woke up. What a liar. A big fat liar.

The door creaked open. Whoa, what, she didn't even hear him unlock it. The nameless beautiful dark-haired man poked his gorgeous face through and said, "I changed my mind. I'm not going to explain anything." He probably saw the fury twist onto her face because he began to close the door quickly afterwards.

"Wait!" Ino shoved an open palm at him, well two technically. Her hands were bound. The door stopped swinging for a few seconds, leaving a small sliver of his shadow visible. When Ino decided just then to continue her sentence, the door continued its movement and fully closed, sending a small thud echoing in the room. And without hesitation, Ino let out a banshee shriek of rage.

Outside, the irrefutably handsome man shook his head as the sound of her shriek was dulled by the thick wood of the door. She was exceptionally pretty when she was asleep and she would probably be even prettier when she was awake but the second she opened her mouth, it was like a thousand Pandora Boxes were being smashed open all at the same time. The girl was a hellish ball of noise, sensuality, and sins.

So many sins.


	2. The Meeting

The first time they met, Ino did not peg him as the type to kidnap. Well actually, the first second they had met, she didn't even see him. She had fucked up her little mission and – in a dress disguising beautiful bags of money - had happened to run into an abandoned building and had peeked out of the second floor window in case of her pursuer when a flashing gleam of silver had caught her eye. The next second after that, a shadow silhouette stood in front of the window, moonlight reflecting off what she could now identify as a machete slowly getting ready to slice something off her.

She was mentally screaming her last prayers when there as a sudden gust of wind as something or someone slammed into her, shoving her back with so much strength she ended up tumbling several times before crashing into a wall. The sounds of the machete meeting nothing but tiled floors had echoed in the dim room.

Strong arms wrapped around her torso tightened for a second and then there was a groan. "Your scent is ridiculous right now," a deep voice had rumbled. She had looked down, eyes making contact with a man with dark eyes, dark hair, and a smirk that sent her heart beating a little too fast. His arms slithered out from behind her and propped themselves on either side of her body. Ino only stared with innocent eyes as his smirk turned even more devilish and his eyes evolved into a swirling red. "Hold my hand," he said, and Ino complied without a single protest. And she watched, stunned, as the growing purple aura on him moved and grew dense, forming ribs as the machete struck down against it.

He wasn't fazed. Instead, the man only broke eye contact with her to help her onto her feet, calloused hands holding hers even more tightly. Then, without sparing the attacker a glance, he had flicked a free wrist back.

Ino could only stare as a stream of lightning appeared out of thin air, attaching the attacker to the wall within seconds. The body moved erratically and unnaturally as electric currents flowed through the body.

She turned her attention back toward her supposed "savior", blue eyes wide. "What are you?" she asked and then she noticed that he was fingering her bracelet. She tugged her hand back. "What do you think you're doing?"

Without much an answer, he had just grabbed her hand back, pressed his fingers against the bracelet and muttered a few words underneath his breath. Then he released his hold on her. Ino immediately brought the bracelet closer to her face, inspecting it as her bracelet was enveloped by a soft white hue. It disappeared within several quiet, long seconds. Then she looked back at the mystery man, expecting him haven't moved from his place.

Instead, the man had already left her side and was finding more interest in hacking his victim's head with the victim's own machete. The sounds of the hacking along with the floating stench of blood had begun to create movements in her stomach – ones she did not particularly enjoy. However, the real impulse to vomit didn't fully hit her until the head fell of its body with a soft thud and had rolled in front of her, leaving patterns of blood as it did so. She had covered her mouth instinctively and pressed an arm uncomfortably against her stomach.

"Sorry," he had said and coughed as he walked forward to the wobbling thing. Then he lifted a hand, pulled his sleeve up and tapped the device on his wrist several times. He coughed once more – probably at the stench rather than from the chilly winter night – and then extended an open palm out at the rolling head. It disappeared with a flash.

Like a deer in headlights, Ino stared wide-eyed at the man. Just what in the world was happening? Was that even physically impossible? Hold up, was this even her universe?

His presence popping into her personal bubble was enough to break her train of thought. "That charm is going to be able to hold up for six months before your existence becomes too much to be ignored," he had said, pointing at her bracelet.

Then he tossed something up into the air. The small tinkling of chains combined with a soft jingling of a bell had Ino shooting a hand out at the object. "Hey, that's mine!"

"Nope, not anymore," he had replied, shaking his head and in one smooth motion, reached underneath Ino's dress to unhook a heavy bag. "And I'll be taking this for saving your life," he said, lifting it up to her face, devilish smirk one riding across his pretty face. Petrified, Ino could only watch as he leaned in closer to her face and pecked a soft cheek. "I'll see you in six months. Thanks for the five grand," he said and then disappeared with a few more flickers of light.

There were several things that ran through Ino's head multiple times after that encounter. One was: "that little fucker stole five grand from me!" Another was: "The hell is going to happen in six months?" And the last was: "My goodness, I've met the most beautiful man in this universe."

The thoughts didn't rise to the surface just several times within the span of six months. No, it was like a flashing headlight that seemed to rapidly flicker on and off. But she didn't let it bother her. Instead she continued on with her perfectly normal thieving life.

That is, until six months later.

Six months later, she woke up to the sound of something smashing in through her window and the smell of well, _everything_ smoking. With a sleeve over her nose and mouth, and ignoring all the "stop, drop, and roll" rules from grade school, she ripped off one of her bed sheets, and – clad in her nightwear – jumped out onto the fire escape, running up rather than down, she knew someone was waiting for her to go down. That someone would ask for their money back or her life and there was just absolutely no way was she going to go through all that again.

Once having successfully planted two feet on the fire escape, she discarded the bed sheet, pulled at her ponytail, and hastily began climbing the steps. It was strange, she pondered. Although there was obviously a fire in the apartment building, the fire escape wasn't being used by many. Upon reaching the highest floor in her building, she peeked into it conspicuously, just where was everyone? She shrugged to herself. Whatever, as long as she escaped, it was all good. But how did she get off the fire escape and on top of the roof? The fire escape didn't lead her that high…

Then, a miracle she very much did not deserve occurred. Two hands appeared from above the ledge of the roof, dipped down in a life-saving offer.

She wanted to stand there for the rest of the day with a mouth gape wide open at her luck, or bad luck, she didn't exactly know yet. But she really didn't have the time, not with a burning building under her feet and possible assassins after her damn head. So she reached with her arms stretched out, gently placing her hands in the unknown person's, tugging once to get a feel of the resistance and prepared herself to jump.

What she wasn't expecting was the intense strength of the hands that had her literally propelling into the air within seconds. She tried her best to keep the scream peeking at her lips to herself as she soared above a familiar head of thick dark hair. However, a piece of her pride was ripped off when a squeak left her lips as she landed and skid to a stop with burning feet, hands touching the roof to steady herself.

"You've got a cute ass."

Ino pulled at her night dress and whipped around alarmingly fast, face quickly becoming pink. That thief of a thief who stole five grand from her just stood several steps away from her, looking damn smug in his unbuttoned button up shirt (because who would ever button up those?), dark T-shirt, and snug jeans.

He had great arms, she noted and then immediately pushed it out of her head. She stepped toward him hastily. "You! Did you set this up?!" Then she reached forward to take him by his collar. There was no response. He just took a step out of her reach and she lunged forward, mind set on getting her hands on him.

The man only lifted his own hands out of his pockets, allowing wind to whip his shirt as he stared into Ino's eyes, his eyes feral. "How about I explain later?" It was a statement.

For the first time since interacting with the man, Ino felt fear. She was just about to open her mouth and speak when he raised his arm and struck black everywhere.


	3. The Beginning Part 1

"What's your name?" Ino threw at the man. After a week of being spoon fed and chained to her bed with very few unpleasant breaks, Ino had woken up to the pleasant surprise of unbound hands. She had then taken one look at the man sitting in the room and threw him her first interrogative sentence. She wasn't afraid of being held captive anymore – at least not by this man. He was ridiculously nice.

"You'll be living here from now on," he said instead, getting up from his chair and walking in her direction. "You can't go back to your past life."

Ino lied on her side and peered at him through her hair as he stepped closer. "Dude, what's your name?"

He rolled his eyes, earning a smile from Ino. "If I let you roam the house you must not walk out of the front door."

"Your name!"

"Tch." He stood there in front of her for a few seconds, contemplating. Then he spoke again. "Sasuke."

Ino jumped up from her spot on the bed and got on her knees. Then she patted his head mockingly. "You're such a good boy," she joked. "Only took three tries."

Sasuke didn't say anything. Instead, he just seated himself on the edge of his bed, running a palm over the covers of her given bed. He barely looked up when she stood on the bed and in one childish movement, fell backwards and sank into the glorious confines of the mattress. "So, you're saying I get to stay here? What do I have to do?" she asked, pushing long blonde hair out of her face.

"Just don't walk out of the door."

"What happens if I do?" she pondered, sitting up to look at his face.

And his face froze in perfection for a few seconds as he thought. He picked his words carefully. "Then you probably won't ever see anything ever again." Then he rose from his spot and walked to the door, swinging it wide open to show that he wasn't going to lock it once more.

"I'm serious. If someone else finds you, you'll die," he said, tossing the words behind him.

O_O

The first two months following the introductions were simply awkward. There were so many habits and routines that were never formally informed to the other so there would always be those moments when their roads would clash which always ending up with one blushing pink and the other avoiding eyes. But despite all the mishaps and the plain fact that Sasuke had abducted Ino and normal people should be too afraid to openly rule this new territory, they settled into a somewhat normal relationship that bloomed between roommates.

It was like they had revisited all the rules first taught to kindergartners about manners within the first month. It took them at least four times – two offences caused by each side – to finally learn that one should always knock on the door before opening. There were even days when Sasuke would just forget about the blonde girl's presence and walk around like he still lived in a bachelor pad, half-naked and only boxers. His blonde "roommate" was embarrassed by it at first – perhaps by his sheer brash display of masculinity or just by his body, a question he never did find the answer to – but she eventually grew used to it and said nothing about it because it also allowed her to walk around the house barely clad.

The pair barely talked but they learned many things about one another.

Ino learned that Sasuke was a very simple man. He did not like sharing anything, which included his food – she found out the hard way when she tried to pick a piece of tomato out of his dinner and he had nearly stabbed her with his fork. The man most certainly did not like talking and he had a very questionable job. His days usually consisted of him either quietly lying on the couch – Ino assumed he was busy thinking – or sitting in front of the ridiculous flat screen gaming. He looked like the type to work out often, maybe even every day, but he never did. The man only went on weekends and every once in a while on a weekday. Otherwise, he usually just frickin' sat there, and it drove Ino insane because it never looked like he got bored of it!

Sasuke, on the other hand, learned very well that Ino had a lot of energy – like way too much energy for a supposed adult. She liked to jump around all over the house and had a habit of wearing his shirts without his permission. He supposed it was alright since they were technically on good terms but …it was weird. It was like having a girlfriend he didn't like. She was sort of always there but not there. Within the first week of roaming free in the freakishly large house, she was already taking over the housework and had officially kicked him onto his couch without much to do. He didn't necessarily mind.

It was the third month when the blonde finally asked him a question that had been plaguing his mind since the moment he invited her to stay. "Hey," she had said to him when he was lying on the couch, deep in his thoughts. "Am I ever going to get new clothes?" she sat down on the loveseat to his left.

"Do you want to go outside or do you want to use the program?" he had replied, picking a strand of her hair off of his T-shirt. Damn that woman. She was like a cat with her hair; she got it _everywhere_.

Her eyebrows rose with curiosity. "What program?"

He kicked his feet off the couch and proceeded to stand up. "Follow me," he said and made a gesture with his fingers as he led her out of the living room and toward a locked door. Then he fished out a set of keys out of his sweats that she never once heard jingle from and looked through them briskly before singling one. He held the key over its slot and stopped and turned around to look at her.

Sasuke had thought over the idea of taking Ino in for a while. The dumb blonde didn't even know what she was the first time they had met, much less what was going on. She would die out _there_ and for some mysterious unknown reason, something in his heart rose and something in his stomach dropped at the idea of her dying. He shook the feeling away. He barely knew her. Maybe it was because she reminded him of another blonde.

Fingers snapped in front of his face and his eyes focused back on the sunny blonde with the sky eyes. She looked excited. "Come on, what are you gonna show me?" She smiled at him.

He frowned. She just returned an even brighter smile and observed closely as he inserted the key into the door knob and twisted, listening for that satisfying _click_. She clapped her hands with glee as she heard the noise but stopped immediately when Sasuke turned back and stared at her. "What? It's the first time you're going to sho me around," she said, tiptoeing in an effort to peak over his shoulder.

"Can I trust you?" He finally said, blocking the doorway with his body. He looked at her warily with dark eyes.

She stared back at him, countenance suddenly much more serious, making him wonder if her excitement was all a ruse. "Should you really be asking me that question?" she returned, tilting her head, eyes dead. "Now? At this time? After you've practically taken me captive?" It might just have been him, but she seemed to be closer than before.

She had a point. "I don't want to show you something that you can't handle," he said after a moment. "You really can't leave after I show you."

She faked a gasp. "You're telling me I could have left these past three months?" When she didn't receive a response, she moved forward with an open palm and smacked him on his chest. It hurt a little. "I'm just playing with you. Why would I leave? You're letting me stay and if I ignore the fact that you sit all day and don't talk, you're not that bad a friend."

He raised an eyebrow. "Friend?" Since when was he promoted from 'Roommate' to 'Friend'?

"Yah, friend. I consider you a friend," she said and furrowed her eyebrows. "Even though you're sorta shitty at it." Then she moved forward and patted his cheek, smiling as she pushed by. "Whoa, it's like a whole other house here, how _big_ is this place?"

The door led the pair into what seemed to look like another living room of a completely different house. The second house seemed to flair with a taste of elegance and sophistication rather than the piece of trash bachelor pad. It didn't look anything like something Sasuke would ever live in.

"Don't touch anything," Sasuke muttered, turning around to close the door soundlessly.

Disregarding his words, Ino ran her fingertips against the armrest of one of the couches and then picked up what seemed to be a simple glass figurine on the center of the coffee table. Before she could lift it up to inspect closely, a hand enclosed itself around her wrist as another plucked the item out of her grasp. "I said 'don't touch anything,'" he repeated, face a little too close to Ino's.

She instinctively took a step back, startled at his proximately and watched as he settled the object back in its place. Ignoring the frozen state she was in, Sasuke just led the way deeper in the second house, never once touching the sides of the wall or the doorknobs of the many closed doors in the hallway. He walked past it all and only stopped in the kitchen, where he waited patiently for her to catch up.

He positioned his hand over the bronze metallic knob of the door in the kitchen after she had caught up. She watched, mesmerized as the door flickered and pulsed to an unknown beat before finally swinging open with a soft creak. It opened up to a blank, white space.

He entered first and took a few steps out into nothing for a while before seating himself down on the floor. She followed after him wordlessly and decided to kneel across him.

They didn't speak for a while. They didn't move much either. With the exception of their chests moving as they breathed, nothing really happened.

Finally, without a word, Sasuke lifted his hand and pressed his palm against the space between the pair. From that single spot, fresh grass and soft clouds erupted in a violent gust of wind. He only drew his head back and covered his face with an arm. Across from him, he couldn't see, but he was sure he heard a scream.

When all the gusts of wind had settled down into a soft breeze, Sasuke opened his eyes to see a flustered Ino. Sharp, sky-blue, eyes bore into his. "Did you see anything?" she asked, clutching onto the bottom of her baggy T-shirt with white knuckles.

And for the sake of his life, he shook his head.

"Good," she said, more to herself than him, and patted the area over her heart. Then she opened her eyes once more to study the after effects of the wind. Gone were the wide expanses of white space. In its place were white cumulus clouds floating gently high in the sky and a ground full of bright green grass. She fisted a handful of the grass and turned toward the man. The man had his head rolled back, a small content smile on his face as the fresh wind hit his face. "How did you do that?" she asked.

He lied down on the grass. "Maybe one day I can teach you," he said and propped himself back into sitting position. "But for now, hold my hand."

"Never heard of that one before," she said and smiled. Then she took his hand.

He shot her a look so esoteric she doubted there was anyone that could decipher its meaning.

"Now," he said, beginning with slow words. "Think of what you want to wear out."

"We're going to go outside?!" she screamed loudly. She noticed him wince. "Sorry," she apologized with a meek smile. But he just stared at her and didn't respond she closed her eyes once more. "Okay, I'm thinking of what I want to wear." She felt him squeeze her hand in response.

"To your right," he spoke after a moment and she opened her eyes.

True to his words, her right side sat a bundle of clothes. She gaped at it before picking them up, shuffling through the stack quickly. "Like seriously, you should show me how you did that. What is this? Magic?" she said, looking at him.

He gave her a somewhat smile. "Maybe one day I can teach you," he said.

O_O

"The world isn't as you see it," he told her that night as they sat in front of the fireplace in her room. "There are a lot of things you don't know."

Stabbing a marshmallow with her metal extension fork, Ino rolled her eyes. "You couldn't be any vaguer. Stop easing into it. I don't know what you're hiding."

"Some things should really be eased into."

"Psh, no they shouldn't. Come at me, I can handle it! What's so bizarre about what you're gonna tell me?"

He sighed. "Ino, remember that first time I met you, how I struck that machete wielding boy to the wall?"

"Yah, with some lightning thingy. It came outta your hand," she said, mouth full of marshmallows. "Wow, these marshmallows are really good. What brand is this?" she flipped the pack over to scan its name. "You should have one." She reached for his extension fork.

"No, I don't really like sweet things," he replied and continued on with the matter. "Don't you ever think about how I did it?"

She shrugged her shoulders, causing loose blonde hair to follow its movement. "I just always assumed you would tell me." She licked her fingers. "You will, won't you?"

He nodded. "With time."

"How about we start now?" she suggested, stabbing another marshmallow. It must have been her twentieth that night. Should he stop her? She won't be able to sleep that night if she had too much sugar in her system.

"Sure," he said. Then he paused to collect his thoughts. "I'll tell you the basics. There's another world out there. And in this world …humans are the weakest," he finished, and made a motion that suggested he was going to get up.

She grabbed at his pants as he rose to his full height. "No, wait." She paused so suddenly he almost wanted to peer down to make sure he was alright. Then she relinquished her hold on him and slowly said, "Is there some sort of magic in this world?"

He nodded once more.

"In this world …are there other species?"

He nodded his head once, achingly slowly.

She pursed her pink lips. Then she gestured toward him, up and down. "Then what species are you, Sasuke?"

He stood there for a few silent seconds before turning around fluidly and walking out of her room.

In his bed that night, he realized that it was the first time she had ever called him by his name.


	4. The Beginning Part 2

Sasuke remembered the nights when he woke up with cold sweat dotting his forehead and hands clammy with perspiration. The bed he slept in would then be too much, too hot to handle and he would rip the covers off and bound for the kitchen, where he would pour himself a glass of water or maybe a glass of milk if he could ignore the intense pounding in his head and the clutching pain in his chest. Then he would sit for an hour or two, trying to figure out what he had even dreamt of. All he could remember was a gentle wistful breeze.

It began to get worse the night Ino had asked _that_ question.

Instead of waking up in the dark confines of the night with a fast beating heart, he woke up to the beginning rays of the rising sun shining through the single window in the house. But still, he held in the peeking scream and stumbled through his room and into the kitchen, breath still heavy and face coated with a thin layer of cold sweat.

It was a mindless routine. He searched through the drawers loudly, slamming one shut when it wasn't the one with the proper utensils.

"Sasuke," a soft voice spoke, worried. He spun around with so much force it slammed the drawer he had open shut with a loud _bam_. He left his eyes drift from her toes, up her body, to finally focus on her face.

_That face_.

Those large, blue eyes that carried the color of the sky. The ridiculously long, blonde hair that reflected the color of the sun. The nose. The lips. The _everything_.

She held something out to him. His eyes traveled down. A glass cup filled with water sat in her hands and he took it, swallowing it all within seconds. He slammed it on the kitchen counter and walked around her, heading for the couch in the living room.

"Sasuke," she repeated, following him with quiet steps. "Are you okay? Is something bothering you?" She seated herself right next to him, watching him with worried eyes as he rested his head against the back of the couch, an arm over his eyes. "Sas-"

"Before all this," he interrupted and gesture to the space between them. "We've never met before, correct?"

She nodded and then realized he couldn't possibly see her with an arm covering his face. "Yeah."

He moved his hand and stared at her with one lone dark eye. "Yeah what?"

"Yeah, we've never met."

"Then," he said, slouching forward to cover his head with both arms. "Then why do my dreams feel like memories?" he whispered.

Ino didn't know what to do. It was the first time she had ever seen the composed alpha male so broken down, and over something so simple like a dream. But she was curious. "What did you dream of?" She watched as every muscle on his body physically tensed. Everything was making her more and more curious. Just what did he see?

He lifted his head up. "Goodnight," he just muttered, and turned his body away from her, slipping his legs in the space between the back of the couch and her body. He didn't miss the way her fingertips slid up his naked arm and patted his hair as she exited the room, retreating to her own bed.

"Yeah. Goodnight, Sasuke," she whispered and disappeared.

Truth be told, he didn't actually sleep for a long time, but he stayed on the couch because it was better than being in his own bed. He had clutched his head that night, trying desperately to erase scenes that felt too much like memories.

Most of the scenes were like photographs, shot through his eyes at things he had once done and at people he had once seen. It could even have been pleasant if not for the last part, the part with the ridiculous gusting wind and the swirling blue vortex. _She_, Ino, had been holding onto his arm with both hands, eyes wet with unshed tears, begging and screaming for him not to let her go. A squeak had left her lips when the vortex beneath her had engulfed a piece of her dress and had dragged her down. "Please, Sasuke, don't let this happen!" he had remembered her saying. He could recall the clutching pain in his chest and the way it squeezed and throbbed the longer he held onto her hand contemplating on the choices. He remembered a raspy, boyish voice screaming in his ear over all the wind that he had to, that he must. And he didn't know when he did it, but suddenly, Ino's fingertips were out of reach and tears were being shed, for real, as she perished behind the swirling wind and bright light.

He would be lying if he said he hadn't shed a few tears thinking about the dream. It felt too real, too raw in the pain territory. It was like a very bad tragedy, feeling too many emotions he could link too well with scenes he couldn't remember.

O_O

Afterwards, the couch became Sasuke's new favorite piece of furniture in the house and he took an affinity to sleeping on it when Ino asked a little too much – which was a little too often because she was getting increasingly bold about asking him questions and expecting answers.

So one day, he decided to take a chance across the hole that sat gapping between both worlds.

Was it morning yet? He thought, staring at the soft leather of the couch. The only things that ever told him what time it was in the apartment were his cell phone and his window, both which were in his room. Dammit, he didn't want to get up, the blanket Ino had thrown over him in the middle of the night was the comfiest, goddamn fluffiest thing ever. Did she get it the last time they were out?

A hushed giggle floated up to his ears. He tried his best to not instinctively tense but by the way she giggled once more, it seemed like it hadn't work. Instead, he chose to turn around with as much dignity stamped on his face as he could muster. That also failed too when he turned to the side a bit too much and nearly caught a mouthful of her soft blonde hair.

The blonde stood hovering with her hair raining down over him like a liquid gold waterfall. It wasn't like him to be compelled by such a pathetic desire but he couldn't help but stretch a hand out to tangle it in her hair, relishing as the soft strands slipped through his fingers. And her scent was outrageous too. It infected his sinuses with blooming flowers and sweet fruit. Was it strange to think it felt too right despite not knowing her well enough? Perhaps it was all the dreams interfering with his judgment.

"You're so cute when you sleep," she said, instantaneously making his body go stiff. The comment dug up a vague picture of them, the two, sitting in grass, with his head on her lap in some unknown place. Her hair dangled over his face and she was smiling as she whispered similar words into the air. He closed his eyes, determined to wipe her face out of his mind.

Shit.

With the blonde around, all his thoughts just looped back to her. Like, what the hell? And all the scenes he was getting, where did those come from? Were they even real?

Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair messily and swung his legs off the coach to plant them onto the fuzzy, carpeted floor. With tired half-lidded eyes, he watched her take a step back to make room for his legs before settling back into the space created and gently resting a hand on the top of his head, attempting to neaten up his naturally rebellious hair. She ran her fingers nimbly through his hair in slow, lazy motions that made his eyelids droop down and his body lean forward. She didn't react when he rested his head on her torso and ran his fingers down the back of her thighs to stop at the back of her knees.

Maybe it was the atmosphere of intimacy or just his own thoughts interfering, but he really wanted to…

Without any other superfluous thoughts, he pulled at the back of her knees to the space on either side of him until she was sat straddling him. It was awkward, filled with her many squeals when she lost her balance or when his hands wandered to places they shouldn't have to help steady her. And when everything was settled down, she was pink and flustered, struggling to pull the t-shirt she wore to cover herself. With delicate pink dusted over her cheeks, she puffed her cheeks out childishly and narrowed her eyes at the man in front of her.

"Just what do you think you're do-" she began but was abruptly silenced by the most sweet, endearing kiss to ever be planted on her lips.

He pulled back after a few seconds, studying her expression.

She looked like she was battling out something inside and he felt something in him drop at the possibility of the kiss being a complete mistake. But the worries promptly dissipated when she rubbed a finger between his brows and returned a small smile that hinted at too many things.

Then she closed the distance between them, sliding herself closer to his body to clutch the top of his shoulders as she pressed her lips against his. It started with soft nibbles and escalated to teasing tongues and roaming hands – namely Sasuke's. Ino tug away from his mouth with a sharp intake of fresh air as well as to allow a soft moan escape from her lips before snapping her head to stare down at Sasuke. He returned a devilish smirk. "I always did want to say that your butt is perfect," he said, hands reaching lower to give a testing squeeze once again. She frowned down at him but the hints of mirth never left her eyes. Then he tested the boundaries once again with the same playful smirk. "And your breasts," he added, pressing the side of his head to her chest.

Ino returned an equally playful push and got off his lap, brushing at the baggy T-shirt. "You're so superficial," she said.

He shrugged. "It's easier."

"Than what?" she asked, eyeing him with a glint of an emotion he couldn't define.

He didn't want to tell her that saying she was pretty was easier than telling her that his feelings were based off memories they both didn't remember. He didn't want to say they were based off emotions and memories that seemed to ooze out of thin air only when she was around. He wasn't especially prone to emotions, but whenever he dreamed and scenes began to run, it felt too raw.

"Nothing. Nevermind," he repeated and pushed himself off the couch, tugging the blanket over him afterwards. "Get dressed, we're going outside."

"Really? Outside?" she asked, excitement showing in her eyes. "You're not messing with me, are yah?"

"Get dressed before I change my mind," Sasuke muttered, rubbing his temples.

She squealed and jumped onto him, hanging by his neck. "I finally get to wear all of the cute clothes I brought last time!"

He purposely coughed. "With my money."

"Hey, you won't let me get a job!" she said, pointing at him with an accusing finger. Then a smile stretched over her lips and she took several dainty steps closer to him, pressing hands gently on his naked, toned chest. "Thanks though," she whispered, looking at him through thick, curled lashes.

She had set up the stage, asking him without words and he acted on it because he was most certainly not dumb enough not to read the situation. He slipped fingertips beneath her chin, slouching just a tiny bit so that he could bend his head over to hover slightly over hers. He ran a finger over her bottom lip, dark eyes watching as they parted just slightly before looking into her eyes, noticing a small twinkling within them.

Then, with a barely detectable smile, he leaned forward, giving her the same sweet, endearing kiss he had earlier. In the midst of the kiss, Ino had run her hands up his chest to rest at his shoulders, squeezing harder the longer their lips stayed intact.

When it seemed like her grip became a little too much, he pulled away, obsidian eyes opening just in time to see hers flutter close, an expression of pain grazing her face as she pulled hands up to clutch her head. He stepped forward, hands gripping the side of her shoulders as she hunched away from him, small droplets of tears pooling at the sides of her eyes.

He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what was going on, so he pulled her in close, a hand cherishing one of her cheeks.

There was no response for a few more seconds before she pulled away, hands covering over her mouth and tears slipping. She slowly removed her hands away from her mouth, brushing her bangs away from her face. "Sasuke, you never did give me a necklace with a small black feather and asked me to be yours forever, did you?" she said, voice small.

He didn't have an answer for her, not a proper one anyway.

It wasn't fair – or right - having all the documents state he had been living on the planet for twenty years but not actually possess recollections of anything. His head just felt hollow, void of any memories or anything else. Everything felt like a cycle before he managed to pick her up.

He felt lost but she still wanted an answer.

He brought a hand up, rubbing the back of his neck gently, looking at anything and everything but her. "I don't know," he muttered. "I don't remember anything."

She choked back a sob and then gave a nervous laugh. "Sorry," she said, rubbing her eyes. "I probably look so pathetic right now," she murmured, glancing through her heavy mass of golden locks to look at Sasuke. Her heart still pounded heavily and ached from the scenes she had seen about him.

There was a miniscule movement, probably intended to be a shrug. Then, "What did you see, Ino? Besides the necklace?"

She didn't know why, but an abnormal ache ten folded in her chest. Her voice almost cracked when she said it. "You let me go." Ah, her chest. There was so much pain. Where was it all coming from? But she didn't want any further words to be exchanged so she spun around, hair flying everywhere, and stalked back into her room, sniffling as she did.

Ino's words hung in his head however. Was she talking about the vortex he had once dreamed about? Did she finally see it?

Her disappearance from the room made it seem a million times emptier and without much of an opinion on this entire matter – he's been struggling for years with it – he just returned to his bedroom, commenced getting dressed and poked his head out into the living room after done.

Ino still wasn't ready.

Surprisingly, she was usually the first one dressed (how, he had no idea) and stood, impatiently but eager to go outside. Sort of like a dog, he mused, a small smiling painting across his face. But it disappeared quickly after when he strolled over to Ino's door, pushing it open with a hand. "Ino," he began but stopped immediately at the scene before him.

She was lying on the bed, face down stuffed into a pillow and half dressed for their day outside. But at the sound of his voice, she twisted a hand back, patting at the back of the dress she wore to make sure nothing as exposed and then catapulted into a sitting position with the pillow in her arms. Like an embarrassed child, she bounced off the bed and attempted to quickly shove her feet into laced booties. The leggy blonde managed to get half a foot into one of the boots before hobbling forward and launching into an unbelievably ungraceful cloud of yellow, white, purple, and black.

Ah, at least that pillow cushioned her fall.

Oh, and when she cried out a frustrated groan with childish kicking feet and flailing arms? Warmth spread over his chest. She just looked so adorable. Wait, were these his own thoughts?

"What," she yelled across the room, effectively drowning him with reality once again. When he looked up at her, she had given up on the pillow and was tying her shoelaces. Then she pounced over next to him, her cheeks dusted with pink. "What?" she repeated. He began to chuckle and her face grew pinker. "What are you laughing about?" Her voice rose.

He made a gesture with a hand. "Nothing," he said, hiding his smile with the back of his hand. "Nothing," he repeated. "Let's go."

"You're not gonna let me go, are ya?" Ino's voice fluttered, tone instantaneously depressed as she followed him to the front door.

Sasuke didn't reply. Instead, he dug into one of his pockets and pulled out a concealed piece of jewelry, turning her way from him as he swung it over her head and gently onto her chest. There was a tiny, barely audible _click_. Then he rubbed at the charm, watching satisfied as it gave a faint glow.

He made a contemplating hum and then fished a set of keys from the pockets of his jeans and grabbed her hand, holding it up to her face.

Afterwards, he opened his mouth to speak. "I know," she interrupted before he could, looking at their entwined hands. "Not to let your hand go because this house is actually not part of the universe I'm used to, so if I get lost I won't be able to get back here without you." Afterwards, blue eyes strayed down to the necklace on her chest and her eyes grew wide. Then she released his hand with a single swipe and slapped the center of his chest with a flat, open palm. "You ripped this off my neck the first night I met you!" she shouted. He wasn't quite sure if it was from happiness of getting the piece of jewelry back or the bad memory. She smiled.

Oh, so it was from happiness.

Then her eyes narrowed considerably. "What did you do with this?" she asked, tone full of suspicion.

"Charmed it," he replied. "So your presence wouldn't be so obvious to hunters."

"Okies," Ino just said, previous facade disintegrating as she lifted small hands to fix the collar of his sweater. Then she dipped her shoulders down, almost inviting him to stare down the front of her dress, and said, "You look so nice when you dress for a day outside." She rubbed the tips of her fingers against the front of his sweater "You look really preppy." He shot an offensive glance down at her, catching one of her roaming hands. Her blue eyes met his dark ones and she pulled her hands away. "It's a compliment," she explained, although it wasn't needed, "You look cute."

He scoffed. "It's not that much of a compliment," he muttered. Swinging her from one hand to the other, he pushed her out of the door gently and closed it, promptly locking the door.

The door led them outside to the side of the same abandon building they had first met. They walked in silence; their steps synchronized until she gave his hand a squeeze and tilted her head forward to look at him. "Mall first?"

"Yeah, sure. Then I'll have to take you somewhere else," he replied, leading her down into a train station. He turned around to look at her. "Careful down the stairs."

Ino gave him half uncertain smile that made her lips lopsided. "I know how to walk down the stairs, Sasuke."

He made a humming sound. "Uhm, just making sure," he replied. Then he suddenly stopped and looked at her, face still and serious. "Tell me if someone is touching you inappropriately. Don't just stand there like last time."

Her finger was shoved into his face so fast that he didn't have time to react properly. "Hey, I thought that was you!"

"That's suggesting you would let me touch you inappropriately," he replied, shaking his head and peeking at her from the corner of his eyes to see her face flustered and pink.

She shook her head, ponytail swinging from side to side. "That's not what I meant!"

Sasuke made sure not to say anything afterwards; it would only rile her up even more for something she was definitely going to feel uncomfortable about. Her body language already told him how tense the situation made her feel; she was beginning to drag behind him with slow, sluggish, footsteps.

To cast away the ambiance of awkwardness, he took quicker steps and tried to distract her with the increase in speed. Maybe it was a bit much because she began to squeeze his fingers. "You're going too fast, 'Suke," she whined.

He stopped right then and there, making her crash into his chest. "'Suke'?" he prompted, eyebrow rising.

She returned a bright smile. "You like? I just made it up." She blinked several times, waiting.

He drawlingly replied, "Yeeeah. No. Don't call me that." Then pulled her forward, swiping through the turnstiles. "Train's coming," he said, scanning the monitors.

"Huh? Why not?" They walked down the stairs and onto the platform, standing patiently as the sounds of roaring, screeching metal reflected off the walls. "Neh, why not, Sasuke?" she asked through all of the noise and rubbed her shoulder against his.

He grunted as the train halted to a stop. "Just don't, Ino," he muttered and pulled her with him into the crowded train, caging her right by the door.

Except for the subtle nudges and soft touches, they stayed in the same position for the entirety of the ride, only moving when Sasuke decided to.

"Where to first?" Sasuke asked as they stepped foot into the mall, casting his eyes over the abundance of people scattering to the many shops. He saw her tap her chin, eyes slightly squinted as she contemplated over the matter.

"_Saaasuke_!" a voice rang out and he twisted his head toward it instinctively.

And all he saw was orange.

Damn that man.

Ino's grip was promptly ripped away from his as the bundle of orange launched onto him, hands gripping fistfuls of his sweater. His nice sweater. There were two forceful yanks as Sasuke attempted to regain his grip on reality because _whoa_, the world was spinning. "I told you to call me after you got home!" the man on top of him screamed, relinquishing his hold on his sweater to punch his chest instead. "Where was my phone call, you dickhead?!" he shouted.

A part of him inside wanted to fight back because of pride but another part of him wanted to fight just because it was _this_ man. Ugh _this_ man.

"Oh," he heard Ino muttering to the side. "That's why he didn't like being called 'Suke' …it's because 'uke' would imply…"

Okay, that was it.

"I was worried about you, Sasu-" the wild man said, gripping his sweater once more, his face a little too close for comfort.

And Sasuke sat himself up with the help of his elbows before gripping the top of the man's head, pushing it as far away from his face as he could. "Get _off_ me, Naruto!" The man on him wouldn't budge. "You're causing a _fucking_ scene!" People were starting the stare at the grappling pair on the floor.

"You signed up for this!" Naruto shouted through Sasuke's fingers that pressed harshly against his face.

Sasuke lost his patience then and there and he immediately commenced kicking at the grown man. Gosh he was heavy. "I didn't sign up for anything!" Something slick and wet swiped at the space between his fingers. "Did you just lick me?" he asked, removing his hand from Naruto's face to stare at his fingers. There was glistening liquid and he immediately felt disgusted. "That's nasty. Get off me before I decide to –"

"Naruto," a voice interjected. Sasuke looked up to see a pink-haired women in a loose t-shirt tucked into her mid-length skirt. Ah, his savior.

Naruto just spun around in his spot on top of Sasuke. "Huh?" he said unintelligently. The pink-haired woman inclined her head to the right, where Ino stood in her black booties, thigh-high socks, and dark purple dress, pretty much looking better than everyone else around. "What?" he said, eyebrows furrowing, oblivious to the hints the pink-haired woman was trying to pass on to him.

God damn. This man was the dumbest thing ever.

"Princess," Ino began, - whoa, was this the same blonde girl he knew – "What she's trying to say," she flipped her long ponytail over one shoulder and leaned forward to Naruto, her shadow falling over his face with untold threats, "is that you need to get off Sasuke _immediately_," she finished, looking down at him like true aristocracy.

Whatever remaining piece of self-respect Sasuke had for Naruto was promptly thrown out the door when the blonde man climbed off of him hastily and bowed in front of Ino. "Yes, my queen," he muttered quickly and then ran over next to the pink-haired woman. "Sakura, she's so scary – scarier than you are when you're mad!" he whispered, not too quietly.

Sakura only rolled her eyes at the immature man. "Way to go, Naruto. Embarrassing me and some poor girl on our first official date out. I'm never agreeing to this ever again," she said, rubbing the temples of her head.

She heard the man scramble behind her as she walked toward the assaulted pair, digging through her purse. "Ack! Sakura, no! Don't deny me so quickly; I'll make it up to you, I swear!" he pleaded, about to get on his knees.

"Naruto, stand up," she hissed, turning around sharply once to warn him. Only once. She approached the pair, holding out a miniature bottle full of hand sanitizer. "I'm so sorry about Naruto. He's sort of an immature brat."

Surprisingly, the first to reply wasn't the attacked cub, it was the lioness. "Naruto? That's his name?" The blonde woman interjected, fixing Sasuke's collar simultaneously. "I don't mind. He's Sasuke's friend, no? Sasuke said so. Oh! And he's sort of cute. I mean, just look at his blonde hair and blue eyes, he's adorable. He kind of reminds me of something," she said, tapping her chin in thought, "but I'm not quite sure who…" Then the blonde girl shot her a brilliant smile. "Hi, I'm Ino," she introduced, hand stretched forward.

There were many times when Sakura felt like shit, but the feeling had never felt so strong than when she stood before the pair. It wasn't the man that made her feel like crap – although he was gorgeous as well –, it was the woman. She was tall on heels, matching the black-haired male and Naruto's height easily with long platinum-blonde hair that cascaded down to her lower back even when tied in a high ponytail. Ack, and her body made Sakura feel like puberty just didn't do its job right. She didn't have the same long, shapely legs that led up to an hour glass figure with perfect proportions of fat. Drat, damn not having desirable proportions of fat on one's body. Ugh, what size was the blonde? She wasn't small that was for sure, but she sure as hell wasn't popping out of her shirt like not-so-little Hinata did. They must be C's, she was going to bet on big C's.

An arm slithered around onto her shoulders. "Don't be so jelly, Sakura," Naruto said nonchalantly, shooting Ino an equally radiant smile.

She promptly elbowed him in the ribs. "Ain't jealous, you buffoon."

Half coughing, he just said, "Wow, Sakura, you're beautiful and strong when you're angry." He didn't stop there. "You'll be a great role model for our future childr-" Aaand, he deserved that second elbow to the ribs.

But disregarding the misfortune of Naruto's earlier behavior, Sakura took Ino's hand and gave a firm shake. "Sakura," she replied.

There was a slight unspoken conversation that quickly passed through Sasuke and Ino at that instant. The blonde had spun toward Sasuke, looking at him then at Sakura. She repeated it for several times, too quickly for Sakura to notice. For the entirety of it, Sasuke just bore into hers, telling her to not do what she was going to do. He knew it was a futile effort, but he had to at least try.

But he knew it wasn't going to work. Ino was a social butterfly that needed to spread her wings every once in a while, even if it meant attacking a complete stranger so he wasn't the least bit surprised when she launched onto Sakura, hugging her, shouting ridiculous things like "You're just the cutest thing ever!" and "You're adorable! How tall are you?" Oh, the poor girl was uncomfortable. He should _help_ her but he wasn't going to because she deserved to feel a piece of what he felt when Naruto was on top of him, raging like a caveman. Ha, he was such a sadist.

Naruto tried to swoop in and save Sakura though, batting at Ino's arms. "Take your hands off my girlfriend!" he demanded.

"I'm not your girlfriend," Sakura shouted, confined in Ino's hold as she wobbled to and fro from Ino's movement.

"Sasuke!" Naruto turned toward him, pointing an accusing finger at the blonde assaulting the pink-haired woman. "Tell your girlfriend to get her paws off my girlfriend!"

Instantaneously, Ino stopped her harassing and untangled her arms from the pinkette. "I'm not his girlfriend," she said, smile lopsided as she stepped toward Sasuke, looping her arm around his and dragging her nails down the center of his chest. Her bemused eyes stayed trained on his face, studying each emotion that flickered through his eyes. "Neh, Sasuke?" she asked, her fingers tickling the back of his neck.

There needed to be a change in subject.

Without any words, he gave her a gentle push away from him and dug into his pockets before pulling his hand out enclosed around a wallet. Then he flipped it open, slid a card out of its slot, and handed it to Ino. "Here, shop around with Sakura. I have to speak with Naruto." He gave her a tap on the lower back, trying to push her along but she stood still, staring at the card in her hands with squinted eyes. "What are you waiting for? I set you free with my credit card; go run wild," he muttered, pushing her once more.

She looked back over her shoulder with suspicious eyes. "Why? What do you want in return? I'm not doing any sexual favors, you freak," she spat out, her eyes grazing him up and down in disgust.

A chuckle escaped him before he could contain it. "Nothing," he said, leaning down to rest his head on her shoulder. "Nothing," he repeated. And her eyes traveled to him, his back toward his. Her profile was gorgeous.

"Okay, fine," she said, slowly, moving in place. Then she turned around to wrap her arms around his body, giving a short squeeze before spinning away. "Let's leave, Saku," she said, leading the pink-haired woman away. "Where did you get your hair done? It suits you so well." Their budding conversation hung in the air as they departed. He could hear them laugh. At least they were getting along.

Naruto approached him soon after, giving him a smile that suggested too many things. "She's sort of high maintenance isn't she?" Naruto's eyes stopped focusing on Sasuke's and he suddenly pointed at something behind Sasuke. "Oooh, let's get burgers," he said, and walked off without asking Sasuke. Typical.

Sasuke followed without much of a choice, falling into step with the blonde man. "A bit," he began, continuing off on their previous conversation. "But I like her."

"Whoa, a confession from the antisocial brunette," Naruto exaggerated, and then leaned forward to pull the door open, stepping aside. Sasuke didn't move forward. "Ladies first," he explained, making a gesture with his hands to suggest Sasuke enter first.

"Stop fucking around, dobe." Sasuke pulled Naruto from behind the door, shoving him forward in front of him as he held the door open for the two to enter. "Grab seats by the corner."

He saw Naruto's smile widen as he began to walk backwards. "Yeah, I know. It's pretty much our spot," he said, sliding into the booth as Sasuke did the same across from him. They briskly ordered, shooting words at the waitress before sending her scattering with a single glare. Afterwards, Naruto tapped the space between them. "Ino's scent," he stated. "It's really obvious, especially when I attacked you and your hands released. Her energy completely exploded."

Across from him, Sasuke nodded at the waitress as she returned to seat their beverages on the table. Then he waited for the waitress to leave before speaking, "I know. I was trying to suppress it but I don't have enough experience," he said, picking up the glass of iced tea and taking a small sip, grimacing at the taste.

"Take her to Neji."

"Neji?"

"You don't know him? He's famous in the underground market, especially with," Naruto waved his hand between the two of them. "You know, our kind."

"I'm surprised you know him. His _area_ is hard to find."

"I accidentally stumbled upon it when I first arrived," he said, looking out of the window. A smile stretched across his face and he tapped on the glass. "Ha, look. There's Sakura. She looks like she's having fun with Ino."

A hand snapped its fingers in front of his face. "Focus, man," Sasuke hissed then leaned over the table. "Let's talk about your earliest memories here. We never did that."

Naruto raised his arms in feign surrender at his actions. "Woah, man, why are you so tense? I don't remember anything a day before two years ago. According to those official documents I have …I would have been eighteen at the time. Why?" He tilted his head to the side, eyebrows furrowed on his face.

"You're such a dumb ass," Sasuke muttered, loud enough for Naruto hear and covered his face with both hands. "Naruto, don't you ever wonder why we don't remember much? We obviously don't belong. So where did we come from?"

His friend just shrugged his shoulders. "I never think about it," he said, reaching for the second glass on the table. "I just assume someone wants something to happen and it involves us. I mean, we probably won't know until it happens. So why stress over it?" Then he held up a finger and dug in his pockets. "Sorry, let me text Sakura real quick. She has no idea where we are." A moment passed when neither of them said anything. Then, "Okay, I'm done," Naruto voiced out, returning his attention to the man across from him.

"Don't you ever want to know what happened to you before you were sent here?"

"I have a lot of dreams that feel like memories," he suggested, looking at the waitresses, obviously eager for his food. "I just sort of assume, ya know? I've been dreaming a lot more lately."

Sasuke nodded his head slowly several times. "Me too. It's been increasing these last few months, you?"

"Same. You gotta know shit is going to start now…"

"Heh, yeah," Sasuke muttered under his breath. A flash of pink caught his eyes and he stared out of the window, where Sakura and Ino were walking past the diner to enter another store. He pointed. "Sakura is obviously one of us. What is she? Did she get her charm cleared?"

"Yeah, I brought her to get her charm cleared. She was actually really lucky. She was wearing her charm when I first bumped into her. Neji said she was an angel. Can't say I'm surprised." Naruto stuck his chin out at Sasuke. "Did I ever ask what species you were?"

"I don't know my species. I never had my charm," Sasuke said, running his hand through his hair, frustrated. "I think someone stole it from me."

Naruto leaned forward, eyebrows furrowed at his comment. "Is that even possible?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I'm not even sure. All I know is that I don't have it and I can't detect it. But someone already cleared my charm. That's why I don't have memories of a fake life here." He lifted his glass of ice tea to his lips. "Ino probably does."

His words were left floating in the air as the waitress once again returned, placing two plates of burgers, a slice of cake, and a salad down on the table. "Enjoy," she said, giving a small bow before strutting off.

His blonde companion launched forward and grabbed his floating words. "Take her to Neji. He'll return a life she actually lived back to her. Trust me. He's a wizard." Then he scrambled in his seat and pulled something out of his pocket, sliding it across the table and towards Sasuke. "Just in case you forgot his place," he explained.

Sasuke scanned the words on the rectangular business card quickly before pocketing it. He grunted. "Thanks. Your number still the same?" he asked.

"Yeah. By the way, I need your help on my next job request."

"Sure. S'Fine."

Naruto reached for his burger, hands disregarding the napkin as he took a large bite. He nodded in satisfaction. "Aw gosh. The burgers here are _so_ good," he said, mouth full of food.

"Don't speak with food in your mouth, Naruto," Sakura's said, sliding in next to Naruto. "Oooh, is that strawberry cheesecake?"

A body slid in next to him as well. A familiar scent flooded his nose. "Can I take the salad, Sasuke?" Ino asked, picking up the spoon and poking at one of the thinly sliced tomatoes.

What. He hadn't even heard or seen them approach but by the almost stilled silence of the diner, he could only assume that most of the people were staring at their little corner. Sucks to be them.

She nudged him again. "Can I?" she asked, stabbing the dish.

"You're already eating it," he replied, picking his burger up with two hands as he watched Sakura take a bite out of her newly acquired cake, smiling satisfied at the taste. Besides her, Naruto had his eyes trained on the cake, internally weeping as Sakura took each bite. Smirking inside, he leaned over toward Ino. "Is it good?"

"Try," Ino said, holding out a forkful of the salad to him. "I think it's pretty good."

He leaned even further and stole the bite off her fork, nodding his head and humming in agreement.

Ha, he could feel Naruto glaring at him. He shot his friend a small smirk, a smirk only he would recognize and he noticed his friend's blue eyes darkening with jealousy.

His amusement was cut short when Ino nudged his once more, leaning to the side to shuffle through her many bags before bringing a bag up into the space between them. "I got you something!" she said happily. Then her voice dropped an octave as she leaned into her personal space, eyes looking at him through long lashes and fingertips tickling his shoulder. He felt her give him a squeeze on the arm. "Because you would look so sexy wearing them," she whispered, hand sliding down his arm. Then she turned away, returning to her meal.

He glanced away from Ino and toward the pair across from them, who were idly chatting about something miscellaneous. Good, they didn't see or didn't care. His heart was still pounding a little.

But inside, he nodded.

Yeah.

Time didn't tick until she came.

Before her, memories didn't matter.


	5. The Beginning Part 3

Sasuke officially had a headache.

Between the blonde's constant insistence that it wasn't _this_ way but it was _that_ way and the plain fact that it was just fucking cold, he could feel his temper slowly subsiding to let ire inside him to bubble aggressively.

"Sasuke!" he heard her call his name again for the umpteenth time that day. "We just passed it!" she cried out from behind him. Without a seconds delay, a hand enclosed around his and tugged to prevent him from walking any further. "Why are you still trying to walk more?!"

He withdrew his hand from hers and rubbed his temples with calloused fingertips. "Ino," he began listlessly, "if we passed it, I would have known. I would have felt it."

"Psh. Maybe you didn't feel it. But I did." Sasuke spun his entire body towards the blonde to see her arms crossed over her chest, features scrunched up in irritation. "Hell, you can even see it!" she shouted, gesturing out to land to her right.

There was only wide expansive land full of grass to her right. What in the world was she talking about?

He must have looked absolutely confused because she wrapped an arm forcibly around his neck, coercing him to look in the same direction as she was. "Right. There," she gritted, pointing at the same expansive land.

"There's nothing there," he monotonously stated, head still locked in Ino's hold.

Her temper must have snapped because a noise sounding oh-too-similar to an animal ready to rip its prey apart – him being the prey – rose from the back of her throat right before she released her grip from around his neck and propelled him forward with more strength he had ever believed she had possessed. "You're blind!" she shrieked, "There's literally an entire estate right there. And you can't fucking see it!" She made many thumps that suggested she was stomping, of course he didn't actually know; a small part inside of him was too intimidated to turn and see. "A-And," she added in a soft murmur. "My feet hurt."

The perpetually vivacious must have been a princess in another life because she stood there, almost waiting for him to take action. He mentally sighed; he shouldn't have given her _that_ much of his attention. But evidently, she was going to get a lot of attention from everyone anyway, might as well be him.

He approached her with slow, strong steps before sliding an arm around her waist, feeling her hands rise to settle on his hips and tipped her chin and despondent gaze away from her shoes to look at him. "Little longer?" he asked, receiving his answer well when she huffed and crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Cute," a stoic voice interrupted. "Very cute."

Sasuke broke his gaze with Ino to look at the speaker. He turned his head to his left then to his right, even up. Where the hell was the voice coming from?

Two pokes and a tug from the blonde brought his attention back to her. "Are you looking for a man with long brown hair? 'Cause he's right there," she said, pointing to what seemed like the same spot she had directed to earlier.

"She can see me," the impassive voice spoke, "You can't. What happened to your charm, Sasuke?"

"I don't know what you're talking about but Sasuke's always this charming," Ino interjected speedily, and then looked at what Sasuke assumed was Neji standing there up and down. "I didn't expect you to be someone who would bat for the other team." One of her arms crawled around his, clutching it closer to her possessively. Her actions did not go unnoticed by Sasuke, who inwardly scoffed. Cute.

There was the sound of fingers snapping before the long-haired male he recalled as Neji appeared before him in his white traditional robes, looking not a day older than the last time they had spoken, not that much time had passed.

His eyes sparked with condescension as he glared down at the feisty, periwinkle-eyed female, making sure to use every inch he had over her head. Then he scoffed. "Keep that thing on a leash, Sasuke. I refuse to have it running around loose in my home." Without further words, he left the pair to return to his residence, a residence that had also materialized out of thin air.

By the time the pair had finally situated themselves inside the well-established dwelling, steaming tea was already being poured into white, ceramic cups and being set down for them on the low table. For a few minutes, the only movements in the room were those regarding the tea, everyone obviously unwilling to be the first to open up an unforeseeable topic (well except oblivious Ino, of course).

Because Sasuke was a stubborn mule and because Ino was just absolutely clueless about the reasons why they were even there, Neji opened up the floor to their conversation with, "Where's your charm, Sasuke?" his fingertips tapped impatiently against the wood of the table. "You can't see my residence without it so where is it?"

"I never had a charm," Sasuke replied, eyes on Ino as she sat her tea back down on the table and began to lay on her side, positioning herself to rest on his lap. He lifted his hand as an invitation, running his fingers along the side of her graceful neck when she took the offer.

"You two better not be doing anything disgusting under the table," Neji scowled, displeasure at the pair's actions evident.

Then the door swung open with so much strength and so fiercely that it banged against the wall and ricocheted back toward its opener. The leggy brunette walking in just slapped the door away from her once again without a care in the world as it shaped a small dome about the size of a doorknob.

Neji scowled though it was unclear whether it was the regarding the state of the wall or because of the new guest making her way towards him. "Neji!" the brunette called, pulling at her distressed shorts. "Did you take my hairbrush again?" she asked, stopping right beside him with a hand on her hip.

Across the table, Sasuke picked up his cup of tea and hid his smirk as he threaded his fingers in Ino's hair.

Without receiving a response from the stoic man, she snapped her fingers in his face, ignoring the way he poured himself more tea. "Hello? My hairbrush? Where is it?" she repeated.

Neji picked up his tea. "I have customers, Tenten. You should dress more appropriately when we have company over." He brought the cup to his lips. Then the brunette woman picked her knee up aggressively to suggest she was going to knock the tea over. Allowing reflexes to take over, Neji jerked the cup away, watching with a mouth gape open like a fish out of water when the tea tumbled out of the cup and discolored his clean, white robes. "Tenten!"

She picked up the empty cup and slammed it back on the table, causing Ino to stir on Sasuke's lap. "Boohoo, Neji. Where's my hairbrush?" she asked, raising a leg on top of the table and leaning on her knee.

He simply turned the other way. "You're indecent, Tenten. Go put on more layers." He stated and tried to wave her off.

"Oh whatever. You sure as hell weren't complaining last night when I practically pranced around your room naked."

The remaining male in the room promptly choked on his tea and began to thump his chest with fist. Then, shifting Ino's weight off of his lap, he turned the other way and began to cough into his sleeve, hoping to not disturb the "couple's" conversation/argument.

All hopes of not being involved were promptly thrown out of the window when the brunette with two buns in her hair snapped her head in her direction, hands set on her hips. She swiveled around the table, effectively dodging Neji's hands and stood intimidating on Sasuke's right side, staring down at him. Then she leaned so close to him that if he just tilted his head slightly to the right and craned a little, he would have had gotten a great view down her shirt. But he doubted her breasts were better than Ino's so he just stayed still, looking clearly unimpressed, which he was.

Then her mouth broke out into a grin and she reached forward, taking his chin. "Hey, you've got a nice face."

The first words that wanted to vomit out of his mouth were "of course" but he didn't want to seem like an arrogant, self-centered douchebag. What the hell, he was an arrogant, self-centered douchebag. And he opened his mouth to say the most conceited words of concur ever when someone else beat him to it.

"Of course it is." The sleeping blonde beauty lifted her head off of his lap and leaned toward the conversating pair, half shoving Sasuke's face out of the brunette's and replacing his spot with hers. "But I'm his and he's mine," she gritted out through clenched teeth. "So you should back off."

Sasuke tried hard to conceal his surprise. Who knew she was so possessive.

The brunette just blinked big, chestnut-colored eyes back at her then cracked a smile. "I like you," she stated, and then whisked away back to Neji, wrapping her arms around his body. "But I'm gonna disagree. Neji's face is better. So much more manly. He," she said, pointing a long finger at Sasuke, "looks like a boy."

Okay, the girl was obviously blind because his face sure as hell wasn't like a "boy"'s. He had a manly ass face.

Apparently (and thankfully) Ino also agreed with him because she gasped scandalously. "Are you blind? His face and body is the epitome of sexy!" Then she slapped his shoulder. "Show her your abs!"

Now, he was pretty damn proud of his body so he had absolutely no problem with pulling his shirt up to reveal his perfect abdominal muscles at Ino's request, watching with amused eyes and a smirk on his face as Neji seethed and Tenten's eyes wandered a little too long. Ino besides him was much too proud. She got to see those perfect things nearly every day.

Tenten nearly choked on her next few words but tore her eyes away and kneed the back of Neji's head. "Neji, whip out your dick!" She kneed him once more when he didn't comply as fast as Sasuke had at Ino's request. "Neji –"

"Okay, enough!" the brunette male had yelled, raising his voice as he turned around and grabbed Tenten's probing leg. "You're going to put on more clothes," he commanded, pointing a finger at her. "And I'm going to change my robes, okay?" But when the woman across from him opened her mouth to speak, he pressed his index finger against her lips. "No, that wasn't a request. You're going to do that right now."

She gave an impertinent scold and delivered a swift kick tp the shin before strolling out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her. Neji released a loud sigh and stood up. "Excuse me," he muttered and then left out of the same door as the brunette.

"I bet they have hot sex," Ino muttered and caught the hand weaving through her hair. "Wake me up when you're done here. This is actually really boring," she said, turning her face away from his and pulling her hands close to her face.

"We're actually here for you," Sasuke said, returning his hand to her hair. "I'll teach you something sometime this week afterwards."

She hummed in agreement. "It better be awesome if you had me wait this long."

Sasuke didn't say anything except twist and twirl a long strand of her golden hair, eyes trying to decipher the symbols the blonde on his lap was scribbling on the wooden floorboards of the Hyuuga compound.

Then the door opened once more, revealing one Neji Hyuuga impeccably dressed once again in similar robes as before. He cleared his throat as he steadied himself to a sitting position. "So, why are you here today?"

Sasuke shifted in his seat for a few seconds before holding up the same necklace he had stolen from Ino in their first interaction. "Here, it's her charm. I need you to release the seal on it so she can use her powers."

Neji took the necklace gently, pressing his thumb against the dangling charm. "Did she accept the fact that everything she knows before two years ago is fictitious?"

The girl on his lap catapulted up from her resting position. "What?" She looked at Sasuke, whose emotionless face revealed nothing. Then she turned toward Neji, searching for answers.

Instead, he sighed and stood up. "I'll leave you two in here for a few hours."

The second Neji left the room, Ino pounced onto Sasuke. "What does he mean everything I know before two years ago is fictitious?" she gripped one of his sleeves, looking all too similar to a lost dog. "Are all my memories before that made-up? You can't seriously be telling me that!"

Realizing that this was going to be no easy task, Sasuke pushed her away from him and stretched his legs out, sighing. "I am and then I'm expecting you to accept it all. If you don't, you'll never be able to return to the life you really had. You'll live here, in this world, knowing there was something more but never really experiencing it." His tone was slowly turning monotonous.

"I can't. I had a family, people who loved me," she muttered, pulling her legs toward her body and hooking her arms around them.

He returned a derisive scoff. "Where are they now?"

"They were taken," she muttered.

"More like never existed." His icy cold tone and words delivered a blow through her heart.

"Sasuke," she began.

"Hm?"

"Why are you being so cruel to me?" she asked, a hand over her heart, fist clenched tightly.

"Your memories are nothing, let them go so we can move on," he said.

"There was this one time," Ino said pensively, suddenly changing topics, "where my mom – she was really pretty, with her short blonde hair and everything, she was so sweet – she brought me out to the garden in our backyard and helped me plant my first flowers because I was the "flower child" and deserved to see some flowers bloom before I did."

He coughed. "Never happened."

She waved him off. "Anyway, then there was this other time when my brother – I can't for the life of me remember his name –"

"Because he never existed."

"Fought these bullies who were making fun of me in the park. He ended up having to go to the hospital and had to get stitches. I cried the entire ride there and back…" she tilted her head back to look at him with one eye. "What do you remember, Sasuke?"

His response was delayed. "Doesn't matter, Ino. Everything you consider memories are fake, can we please move on now?"

"Just tell me," she insisted.

"No."

"Come on, please tell me." She twisted her body around and began to crawl toward him.

He pulled back and shifted away. "No, Ino."

"Why?" she stopped a mere foot away from him and sat with her legs tucked underneath her, staring at him with a gaze so intense he could feel invisible hands roam over wherever her eyes stayed a little longer.

"No reason." His eyes strayed away from the blonde for only a few seconds, but it was enough time for the girl to close the distance some more, her face just a few inches away from his. "Ino, stop." To be honest, he didn't move at all after that because her face just got closer and closer as her gaze grew more intense as she scrutinized his face. But he kept his eyes on her, contemplating on the right moment to speak. After a few silent minutes, the weird tension was so overbearing, he cracked, pulling back. "What are you doing, Ino?"

"Nothing," she said, and then pursed her lips, looking a bit too coy for some reason. "Tell me again. Tell me about your memories," she probed.

Her lips were a little too red, too plump. Maybe she was even a little too close ...was she trying to seduce some answers out of him? Was it intentional? Not resisting the snap of his tongue against the back of his teeth, he pulled back away from her, distraught at her persistence. "No," he muttered.

It was another silent battle. He could feel her stare, but he looked at anything but her.

Then she leaped far. "You don't remember anything," she murmured, voice muffled by her hand. "You …never had a life here."

It hurt the way she said it.

He could feel his own composure slowly crumble.

"You have no identity of who you are, in either worlds."

Okay, that one hurt much more.

Stop he wanted to say, maybe even scream it. It felt degrading to hear the confession spill from her lips, a girl who had memories, people to love, people that loved her. In her world, he was nothing, no matter how hard he tried. There was a small tug in the pit of his stomach, at the roof of his chest. He wanted something to call his own, even if it meant…

"Ino." His deep timbre caught her attention and she flicked her eyes in his direction, reproachful. Did she cross some sort of boundary? "I know I've asked a lot from you these past months," he muttered, trying to conceal the despairing underline. "For just one more time, please listen to me."

"I can't, Sasuke."

"Why?"

"You're asking me to give up everything I have that grounds me to this world and trade it for …for this …this place, which I'm not even sure if it exists or not! I could accept learning about this other world if I didn't have to sacrifice everything here!"

"Ino, Ino." His voice always sounded the best when he said her name.

Slightly aggravated, she sucked in air like a vacuum cleaner and violently blew out. "What?" Bleh, it sounded like she was whining.

"Look at me."

She bit her cheek, resisting turning toward him. "No, you're going to look at me with some sort of face and try to make me change my mind!"

"You're not going to change your mind?" Something in his voice sounded different to her. It sounded …sinister.

She shook her head.

Then he appeared.

Right. In. Front. Of. Her.

She wanted to gasp but she couldn't. A hand pressed hard against her mouth. There wasn't enough space to bite him.

But it didn't matter anyway because the moment she looked up at his eyes and found them red and black with an intricate design, the drop in her stomach told her it was too late.

She found herself not bothering to resist.

O_O

"Stop peeking on them, Tenten." His voice fluttered from the corner and then she heard him make a tsk of disappointment. "I thought I told you to put on more clothes.

"I did," she retorted, eye stuck against the plaster. Apparently she had carved a hole in the wall. "I decided to at least put on a bra." He must have been eating or drinking something because he began choking. She couldn't help but let a grin stretch over her lips however it melted away slowly when their two visitors began to get intimate in the room. Sasuke had grabbed the blonde. A sigh escaped.

"What are you sighing about?" Neji's shadow began to ooze onto the wall; he must have been close to her by now.

"I'm just thinking about how nice it must be to be in love," she said, pensive, gesturing to the couple on the other side of the wall. "They look so romantic."

The brunette man scoffed. "They're not in love, Tenten."

"Yeah they are." She stood up, turning around to look at him. He wore fresh robes and held a bowl of noodles. "Hey, when did you make? I want."

He stared at the wall with the veins near his eyes bulging. "That's not love, Tenten."

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen love. I've felt it. But that, the thing that they have, that's not love. They're clinging onto something desperate. They can say it. They can go through all the actions. But it will destroy them."

"So poetic. When did you ever feel loved? You never told me about it."

"It wasn't here, Tenten."


End file.
